[tehfincheh]

Bah, thought i'd might as well post this. It's a short descriptive piece that i wrote for college a while back, basically about setting a scene but to include a short message too.

-----

The minutes turned to hours, and the day to night as the glaciers on the nearby lakeshore sparkled in a vibrant pink under the falling sky. Had my thighs not been turning to ice under the raw chill of the bench, i'd have been tempted to stay there until dawn. It really was that beautiful. Never had i heard such silence. Those few precious moments where i could let my mind focus without the urban screech of a car invading my tranquillity, they meant the world to me. Even the deepest waters on the horizon shimmered like an exquisite aqua dream. So pure was the hallucination that i could no longer differentiate between the enchanting galaxies above and the romantic serenity of the empty lake itself. I sat for an eternity, entranced in the symmetry of a world where all ends fused together in an overwhelming bliss of gentle calm. Closing my eyes for a moment, I allowed the sensation to wash over me. It was serile, i could almost feel myself floating towards the distant shore. There was no end, and there was no beginning. Just as i'd imagined, the stresses and strains which had driven me to the lake exuded through my trembling hands and slowly dispersed themselves in to the acres of tranquility.

I sat with my head tipped to the heavens, gazing in awe as the moon's ascendancy captured my imagination, as it had done so many times before. The passing clouds would sail their way through the astral sky, forming a silky silhouette on the waters of the lake. From those very waters, my own reflection gazed back at me. Except it wasn't me, it was everything that i wanted to be.

Had i not been so overwhelmed by the sparkeling shadows, i would have been sure that my own eyes were glinting back at me like soft embers. For years of hard work and acquired knowledge, that little twinkle had eluded my bathroom mirror on the coldest morning. I'd convinced myself that one day, i'd wake up and everything would be in it's right place. Isn't that the story of many a life?

The wooden bench creaked under me and my attention momentarily faltered. By the time my gaze had returned to the mythical lake, the reflection was no longer there. Yet i was so sure that it hadn't been a mere phantom of my wishful fabrication. Sighing softly, i rolled my head to the side and gazed at the ambigious waters. Maybe it was an illusion, maybe i passed in to an imponderous dream, but upon the surface of the glassy lake, i could depict the demons that rested inside myself. It should have been a terrifying ordeal, i was drowning in a black hole of relentless deities. Yet the waters were so peaceful, so placid. In a quiet slideshow of ruthless persistance, i could see my own malignant spirits floating to the surface. The jealousy, the bitterness and the disregard to other's affairs. I'd never set out to hurt anybody, that was the honest truth. But like so many others, i'd fallen victim to the greatest hardship. The hardship of self-discovery.

Passing through life with such disregard to our own negligence, perhaps it's only when we're presented with true natural beauty that we can see the error in our ways. Whether it be the unconditional love of another being, or a perfect landscape under the open sky. I sat there and watched intently as my own demons presented themselves upon the shore. Eyes welling over heavily, it wasn't a joyous experience. For the slightest moment, i felt the burning desire to leap forward and drown the sorrows as well as myself in the depths of the lake. As the temptation flashed before me, i could have sworn the spirits cackled with a prospering intent. Relaxing back on the rotting wood of the bench, i bit a hardened lip and shook my head softly.

A flock of bats rummaged through the nearby trees before taking flight and gracing the night skyline. I followed them with my gaze, watching in quiet amusement as they fluttered past the white gleam of the moon. The sight brought goose pimples to my arms. I could feel the hair on the back of my neck standing on end as the lake continued to ripple in it's own alluring charm. The spirits that had floated to the surface danced there deviously, so full of themselves.

I reached out with a shivering hand and palmed my inquisition through the meditative waters, tentively embracing the faults that i could see in myself. No sooner had i plunged my fingertips in to the cold, the demons shrieked in horror and dissolved in a foam of silver bubbles. I saw my true reflection staring back at me, and there it was, the soft smile on my face had returned. Everything was in it's right place.